I know I’ve said this many times but I never know who might be a new reader so I’m going to say it again. We love to read. My parents were readers as were Sarah’s so we both grew up loving books and reading a lot. We still read a lot and we pray that by the kids seeing us read they will also become readers. Our biological kids also love to read. I thank some of the great living book curriculums that we have used over the years for that. I am praying that all of our boys that were born of our heart and not born of our womb will learn to love to read as well. At any rate, we love it when a good book comes our way. I had heard about Lamplighter Publishing before and had heard nothing but positive things about them, however, we have never tried any of their products. So, I was excited when we were offered to review the novel The Secret Bridge by Amy Le Feuvre.
I know that you all have heard about the importance of first impressions and the positive or negative impact that it can make on a person. Well, let me tell you that from the moment we received the package that the book came in I was impressed. Lamplighter Publishing doesn’t package their books just any old package. I have received books in the mail that were just slipped down into one of those bubble mail envelopes. Well, that’s not what this quality company does. They mail their books in a special hard cardboard box. Inside of the box the book is well protected and very elegantly wrapped in brown paper to protect it even further.
So, why does a book need to be protected like that? If you ask that, you, like us until this deliver, have never owned a Lamplighter book. These are like no other books! The books themselves are beautiful! I had to just go to the Lamplighter website because I could swear that this book is leather bound. However, the website says that it is an “leather-toned embossed cover”. Whatever it is, I have never owned a book like this before. They don’t hold back on their book covers at all. It has the look and feel of a book from an expensive top notch elegant book publisher. Well, this is definitely a book from an elegant top notch publisher, but, I’ll let you in on a little secret, they aren’t expensive. In fact, I don’t know how they can publish and package a gorgeous book like this at such an inexpensive price and still feed their families.
However, I digress!
On to the story line! The two boys that I wanted to read this to, Jacob and Joshua, are both on the autism spectrum but have different problems when it comes to reading. I have found, though, that if I read a book aloud to them I can conquer both problems at one time. However, I was reading another book to them at the time, so I decided to just read The Secret Bridge myself.
I loved it! Amy le Feuvre is an awesome writer and keeps you spellbound. I couldn’t put the book down! The Secret Bridge is about young Bridgett Channing. A mysterious young lady with a mysterious past. At the beginning of the book she finds herself homeless and destitute until Godfrey Bullingham comes along. Now, after reading that brief description, you might think that this is just another one of those historic romance novels. Well, this book was written in 1899 so it definitely has history, and it does involve some romance, however, it is not just “one of those” novels. It also has intrigue, adventure, suspense, and, as I mentioned before, a lot of mystery. The storyline hooks you at the beginning and never lets you go until the end. Each page brings on something new so that you absolutely can’t put it down until you find out what is going to happen next. And, the ending is pretty shocking!
What I really like about this book, though, is that it is a Christian book. Christian morals are wrapped all throughout this novel. The editor has tried to keep the language and the punctuation as close to the original as possible and there are footnotes all through the book that defines an unusual word or further explains an unusual situation that may be unique to that time period. More often than not, though, the footnotes give Bible references to what is going on in the book. It is all so cleverly intertwined that you don’t realize that you are being taught a Bible lesson as while you are reading. Well, you may realize it, but it certainly isn’t going to be a dry Bible lesson. As I mentioned, it is woven into the storyline so perfectly that it isn’t dry and boring at all but is part of the adventure. I can’t wait to read it to my kids!
Shhh. . . don’t tell my wife, but I just noticed on the Lamplighter Publishing website another book by Amy Le Feuvre that I am going to order as soon as I am done writing this. That is how much I love Lamplighter Publishing. I really would like to continue buying books from their Lamplighter Collection for my library. If all of the historical books are this good then I want to buy every one of them.’
To find out more about Lamplighter Publishing and The Secret Bridge just click on any one of the highlighted links above. I know you will not be disappointed. You can also check out Lamplighter Publishing on their social media pages listed below. Many other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed The Secret Bridge and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Reading!
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamplighterministries/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lamplighterbook @lamplighterbook
Google+: https://plus.google.com/107546529632801860503
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